Pacific Gas and Electric Co. admitted Tuesday that it had lost track of development around more than 300 miles of its gas-transmission lines - nearly twice as much as the company earlier estimated - a violation of federal law that could result in still more fines being imposed on the company.

December real estate activity in the Bay Area mirrored the rest of the year's activity -- sales slowly gained while prices dropped. Home sales increased 4.4 percent from December of 2010, market researcher DataQuick reported Wednesday, marking the sixth consecutive month Bay Area home sales rose on a year-over-year basis. In the same period, the median price declined 6.3 percent, falling to $351,500.

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's wife told two neighbors in separate conversations that he had abused her twice last year and threatened to take their son away from her, according to a police affidavit released Tuesday by the San Francisco Superior Court.

Although some residents have long implored San Mateo County to stop spraying roadside weeds, a Board of Supervisors committee indicated Tuesday that reducing the amount of herbicides used is more practical...In response to community concerns, the committee last July requested an independent study to review the county's roadside vegetation management practices and explore possible alternatives to the chemical weed-killers.

Seven African American police officers who sued over alleged discrimination on the Richmond force were depicted Tuesday in stark terms, as either victims of the "racial hatred" of superiors or as organizers of a "power play" against a chief they didn't like.

A group of Santa Clarans opposed to a new 49ers stadium said Wednesday they have collected enough signatures needed to force a referendum on a $850 million construction loan for the project. The group plans to submit the signatures at 3 p.m. Wednesday to the Santa Clara city clerk's office. They need 4,480 valid signatures to be approved and say they have collected about 5,500 signatures.

The upper deck of the Bay Bridge will be closed next month over the Presidents Day weekend, but the shutdown of all westbound lanes on the nation's third-busiest bridge could be a time saver in the long run. Caltrans said the closing, for three or more days, could shave six months off the projected 2014 opening of the eastbound lanes. That means the most expensive public works project in state history, at $6.3 billion, could be done by the end of 2013.

Police are stepping up a crime-fighting program in Oakland's 100 most violent blocks but still won't specify the blocks being targeted. Mayor Jean Quan rolled out the 100 Blocks crime-fighting initiative in October, saying that police would work more closely with city and outside agencies to reduce crime and build trust in the 100 blocks that accounted for 92 percent of Oakland's murders over the past five years.